History, Diversity, Success

By 1996, Vietnam's coffee industry had been rebuilt from the ravages of war, and had become the worlds second largest.

Apart from small roasters serving local needs, however, the crop was exported all over the world as unprocessed green beans.

In that year, four enterprising university students led by Dang Le Nguyen Vu, set up a small roasting plant in Buon Me Thuot city. Buon Me Thuot is located in the central highlands, where rich volcanic soils produce some of the worlds best coffee.

From that small beginning, Trung Nguyen Coffee Company has become the dominant producer of branded gourmet coffee in the country.

At the centre of Trung Nguyen's core philosophy is a desire to improve the lives of the people of the highlands. As a result, Trung Nguyen does not purchase green coffee beans as a commodity.

All beans for Trung Nguyen's world class production facilities come from contract growers. In turn for Trung Nguyen purchasing the crop, at well above commodity traders prices, each grower must meet all the protocols set down by EurepGAP, a Swiss based standard for socially and environmentally sustainable agriculture.

When it comes to roasting and packaging, constant improvement and large capital investments have secured Trung Nguyen's position as a dominant producer domestically, with global aspirations.

Trung Nguyen's branded coffees are already found in 43 countries, and they have earnt the nickname 'the Starbucks of Asia" for their successful creation of a chain of more than 1000 coffee shops , as well as distributors covering Asia, Europe, North America and now, Australia.

The Vietnamese, and Trung Nguyen in particular, blend their coffees to provide a range of tastes and caffeine levels. Since establishment of the industry by French colonists, this diversity of style has become as much a part of the Vietnamese coffee culture as we expect from our wine industry.

Therefore, as you look through the available range, you will see the familiar varieties of Arabica and Robusta, as well as Se, Chari, Excelsior and Catimor.

click here for brewing tips | click here for coffee glossary